News Update for 5/28/24
The was terror on the road for six Sebring adult chaperones and 30 graduating students on Saturday. Sebring parents had to spring into action when they suspected the bus driver transporting the teenagers on a graduation trip was impaired while driving. Keith Shifflett, 55, was taken into custody and charged with DUI, child abuse without great bodily harm and culpable negligence in connection with the incident. Shifflett was reportedly speeding, swerving, and running through red lights. A chaperone on the bus eventually called 911 after Shifflett refused to stop. No injuries were reported and Shifflett was immediately terminated from his employer Holiday Coach Lines when he was arrested.
Just after 4 p.m. yesterday afternoon, Fire Rescue crews were dispatched to a hazmat call on Tanglewood Parkway. A 500- gallon underground propane tank was leaking from the regulator. Highlands County Special Ops team quickly found the leak and hooked up a flare tool and burned off the propane. Units from around the county helped mitigate this hazard, including Squads 19 and 10, Engines 19 and 7, Rescues 19 and 10, and Division 1. No injuries reported.
A Sebring man is now in custody without bond after being charged with property damage $200 or under and burglary with assault. Sergio Carlos Rodriguez Jones, 32, of Sebring, was arrested by the Sebring Police Department, May 21st, in the early morning hours, after his victim called 911 for help. About 6:40AM, the victim reportedly found Rodriguez Jones sleeping on a couch on her porch and asked him to leave. The defendant then jumped over a wooden railing, grabbed her by the hair, and slapped her face. Officers found the suspect locked in a bathroom in a residence on Grapefruit avenue.
NEWS- 5/28/24- Bethany Fountain
Road Closure- Glades County to Highlands County
US 27 from Fisheating Creek to the Highlands County line: Construction project: Crews will be milling and resurfacing US 27 form Fisheating Creek to the Highlands County line. Other improvements include widening, guardrail, and signing and pavement markings. The bridge over Fisheating Creek will be repaired/rehabilitated including pile jacketing and spall repairs. During construction daytime lane closures may occur on US 27.
A 68-year-old Indian Rocks man was arrested early on Saturday morning after deputies saw him walking through police tape that was blocking a crime scene, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Michael Kelley drove his black Ford SUV up to an active PCSO serious bodily injury crash scene just before 1 a.m. According to authorities, Kelley got out of the driver’s seat and walked through the police tape that was blocking the scene. Kelley showed multiple signs of impairment . PCSO says Kelley is facing charges of Driving under the influence and obstructing or resisting an officer without violence.
Much of Texas, the Central Gulf Coast and southern Florida will be facing dangerous heat over the coming days. The National Weather Service says the early-season heat wave will see temperatures at or near record highs. Heat index readings of 115 or more are also possible. Parts of the region are still dealing with the aftermath of a severe storm system that spawned tornadoes and caused multiple deaths.
A man is facing charges after a brawl broke out in a Pinellas County bar. Madeira Beach’s Kenneth Alvin Davis, the Third was arrested Sunday at the Undertow Beach Bar in St. Pete Beach. According to an arrest affidavit, he wanted to bring his dog into the bar, but the manager told him dogs weren’t allowed. Davis and friends allegedly got unruly, and Davis allegedly bit the manager’s finger. The manager allegedly responded by punching Davis in the face. That led Davis’s friends and other bar employees to join in before order was restored. The 27-year-old Davis was charged with disorderly intoxication.